Elk River blanks Marshall at Legion state tournament
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SLEEPY EYE -- Elk River jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as Marshall fell 5-0 in its second game of the Minnesota American Legion State Tournament on Thursday.
The Elks struck first in the opening inning, stringing together a pair of singles to score two runs and seize the early momentum. Elk River continued to add to its advantage with a run in the second inning and another in the third, building a 4-0 lead through three innings.
Marshall struggled to generate offense against Elk River’s starting pitcher, who limited the Mudcats to just one hit over the course of the game while consistently working ahead in the count.
Noah Pieper started on the mound for Marshall and took the loss. The right-hander pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits while striking out five and walking five.
Marshall’s lone hit came in the fourth inning when Cannon Craigmile lined a single to left field. Craigmile finished 1 for 3 at the plate.
Although the offense was limited, head coach Mitch Maxwell credited his team’s approach against a strong pitching performance.
"The Elk River pitcher put together a great game on the mound," Maxwell said. "We were able to put the bat on the ball and had a couple hard-hit balls that went right at people. Despite that, this group is full of grinders. That was certainly true at the plate today, where the team worked some counts."
Despite dropping its second game of the tournament, Maxwell said the team’s effort never wavered against one of the tournament’s stronger clubs.
Marshall will close out its state tournament appearance against Farmington. The start time is still to be determined because of weather delays affecting the tournament schedule.